Their Swim Lessons = My Exercise Plan

One of my goals for this month is to lose five pounds, but so far I haven't been very successful. I haven't been buying bag after bag of two bite brownies or any chips and I walk for a total of 2 hours on Shabbat and about 15 minutes every other day, but that's about it. I'm saving some money on food but I haven't seen a real change on the scale (which has been varying between 130 and 128) yet. Do I need to say that I haven't gone anywhere near the gym?

However, I think I may have found something that will help. My DC and my 3 yo granddaughter started swimming lessons today at our neighbourhood community centre. I have to take them there and wait for them while they have their lesson 3 days per week (the other 2 days my son-in-law takes them). So, how will my sitting there watching them swim for the next two weeks help me lose 5 pounds?

Sitting on the pool deck won't help, but the key is that I have to walk them there and back. I have the baby in the stroller, my purse and the bag with the towels and snacks and I have to push the stroller there uphill. We have to walk fairly quickly to get there in 20 or so minutes and I'm out of breath by the time I get to the top of the hill. Going home is easier because it's downhill but it's still a 20 minute walk, so that's 40 minutes of extra walking 3 times per week. That has to do something.

I guess we'll see at the end of the month!

Comfort Food

Other than dropping Hubby and Dear Child off at the baseball game and picking them up today, and going to Superstore (finally!) I didn't do my usual running around today. And I didn't get much done on the boxes, but I spent some much-needed time catching up on recording our expenditures in June.

I still need to spend a little more time getting right up to date but looking at all the numbers has sent me running for comfort food. I'm sitting here with a plate of cinnamon toast and a mug of decaf English Breakfast tea, which is pretty well my top comfort food (well, besides any kind of chocolate!). And I prefer decaf Earl Grey but I would have had to stand on a chair to get a new box out.

My biggest consolation has to be that I stopped using my credit card sometime last month. I wanted to go to the house this weekend (just for the day) to cut the grass, check the garden, see if the plumber finished the job under the sink and see if he left his bill. The thing is, I would have had to use the credit card for gas, so I didn't go. I really hope to go next week though. Going every 4 or 5 weeks in the winter is okay, but we definitely need to get there more frequently when it's hot. We just have to be realistic about the cost.

Anyway, I think comfort food is important. In addition to tea and toast (and chocolate), I also consider tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches to be comfort food. And homemade chicken soup is great when you haven't been feeling well and are just starting to perk up. Because comfort foods make us feel better, they're important to our financial state too. When a person is depressed and the financial picture isn't good it's hard to find the motivation to do something about it. Comfort foods help revive our spirits and make us feel like there really is a solution after all.

What about you? Do you turn to comfort foods when things aren't going so well? Does it help? And what is your favourite comfort food?

$chool i$ $tarting $oon

You would think I'd know that when the school year starts it means lots of expenses. Whether your child goes to a public or private school it costs money.

There are new clothes or uniforms and shoes. A new backpack. School supplies. In some cases there is a textbook or locker rental fee and a lock. Art supply fee. Field trip fee. Hot dog days. School pictures. The list just goes on and on.

I've put 3 children through the school system. But it's been a while. I just started to think about all the costs I've got coming up in the next couple of months and I'm feeling a little shell-shocked.

My youngest daughter starts full day kindergarten in the fall. This year she doesn't have to wear uniforms, although she's allowed to. When we went to the orientation back in January we were told most of the children don't start off with uniforms but by the end of the year they start creeping in. I'm trying to decide what to do. I don't want her to look or feel out of place but uniforms are frankly cheaper and easier. You don't waste time in the morning, you don't run around trying to find the tights that go with the skirt, or trying to match the hair scrunchie to the pattern on the blouse. Your child can dress herself and, no matter what combination she picks (skirt or tunic, blouse or turtleneck, short sleeves or long), she'll look good.

But I doubt that any of the other girls will start out in uniforms and she will be wearing them for the next 12 years. So, I think we're going to go with a middle of the road decision and get white tops and black, navy and white tights and let her wear them with a variety of skirts and jumper dresses. Then, if the other girls are starting to wear uniforms, she can get a couple of tunics but it's not a huge expenditure at that point.

Regardless, I have to buy her 2 pairs of shoes (and later on a pair of boots) because they're required to change into a pair of 'indoor shoes' in the classroom, plus a backpack and a lunchkit.

The school provides supplies but we have to pay a flat fee for them and I haven't gotten the bill yet.

So, I know what I have to do but I don't know how I'm going to pay for all this yet. And I have less than 2 months to do so. There are really 2 possibilities for coming up with the money. First, I'm still waiting for the retroactive payment of my Child Tax Benefit money from last year. Second, I'm going to be working full time for 3 weeks in August so I'll have a couple of larger than normal paycheques. So, one way or the other the money will be there, but it highlights the need to put away a little money every month for these costs next year.

I Know You're There, Don't be Shy!

It's gratifying to see that more and more people are coming and reading my little blog. In addition to all the Canadians and Americans, I've had recent visits from Korea, Israel, the UK, the Phillipines and Australia!

My only question is: are you all shy? I love comments and I've gotten some, but not that many. They tell me I made a connection (whether you agree or disagree with what I've written). I'd even welcome suggestions for posts you'd like to see. Really, I think the interaction is half the fun so don't be afraid to comment.

Anyway, today I'm really wondering if I've lost my mind. I forgot to go to Superstore last night to buy my Bolthouse protein drink so I had no breakfast this morning. My DC woke up crying with leg cramps before I left so I got out the door late and one of the 2 buses I take wouldn't stop because it was too full.

So I didn't go to Safeway on the way to work (which would have meant a 5 to 10 minute walk from the store to the office). Instead, I bought a muffin and decaf when I got to work. I had also meant to bring a cream cheese and jelly sandwich to work but didn't make it what with having to give DC Advil. So I also had to buy lunch. The muffin and coffee were $3.75 and the pizza and salad cost $7.20. So that's an extra $10.95 I spent today.

Then I went to the store and bought salad and bus tickets on the way home. Unfortunately, I forgot creamer and the protein drink! So I finally remembered and had to send Hubby at the last minute before Shabbat to get them (from Safeway). That cost me an extra $1.10 over what the drink would have cost at Superstore! So, being forgetful cost me $12.05 today.

But being forgetful didn't stop there. I forgot I'd bought something for tonight and automatically started making the same dinner we had last Friday night (because I had everything for it on hand). But Hubby doesn't like having the same thing week in and week out, so I put it all back in the freezer to have next week. The only thing is, I put the mayo, dill and parmesan on the fish already! I hope it works (I've heard mayo doesn't freeze well).

Anyway, I'm off to light candles, so Shabbat Shalom!

3 Vital Pieces of Financial Advice

If you were asked to give someone just starting out financial advice, what would your top three recommendations be? Aside from being a pleasant parlour game or something to fill the time at a bridal shower this question does something important. It forces you to think about your core financial values. Here's my advice (but read my disclaimer at the bottom of the page). I also have to say I didn't do any of these when I was young. I wish I had! It's much easier to start out right than to make changes later.

1. Live on 80% of your income from the very first job you get while you're still in school.
Give 10% to charity and save 10%, either in a high interest account or a registered retirement plan of some kind. And, if your employer offers any kind of pension match make sure you get it. If you do this from the very first time you get a paycheque you won't notice it. It will just become another deduction like income tax or (un)employment insurance. Even if you spend all the rest of your money, it won't matter.

2. Whenever you want to take on a major financial obligation "try it out" first.
Before you buy your first car find out what the payments and the insurance would be on the type of car you want. Find out how much it costs to fill the gas tank and multiply that by 2. Now set aside the sum of those amounts every month for at least 3 months. If it doesn't send your finances into a tailspin then you can take the money you've saved and use it as a down payment on a car. If not, maybe you need to find a less expensive car with better gas mileage. Or maybe you can't afford to buy at all right now. It's better to find out before you sign a 3 or 4 year contract! You can do the same sort of thing when you want to move out of your parents' home and rent an apartment, or when you want to buy your first house or go back to school.

3. Really try to figure out what you want your life to look like.
Then look at all your spending decisions from this simple point of view: Is this (whatever "this" is) moving me toward the life I want or away from it? If you value security, beauty, serenity and learning for example, would that new TV enhance any of those values? How about yet another pair of flip flops or coffee from Starbucks every morning? Why are you looking at modern condos downtown if you yearn for a garden and traditional furniture? Why are you looking for yet another retail job when you need solitude and time to be creative? If you're saving for your first house, how does eating out 3 times a week help move you towards that?

What about it? What are your 3 best pieces of financial advice?

Exhausted Again

I definitely stay up too late. Sometimes I'm up until 3 am writing. I fall asleep with the computer on beside me far too often. I never get to sleep in, but I'm a light sleeper, so sometimes I wake up extra early because I hear the girls upstairs or something. When I stay up late and wake up early I manage to get through the day, but I can only do that so often before I just crash.

Tonight is one of those nights. My brain isn't working and I can't stay awake. So I'm going to take a break and be back tomorrow. I might even be coherent then.

In the meantime, here's something to think about: If you could give someone only 3 pieces of financial advice, what would it be? I'll give you my thoughts tomorrow, assuming I'm awake....

Nothing New Under the Sun

I've been going through boxes of books recently and, in one, I found an old book on personal finance that was given to me by a friend. I chose to read through it again before deciding whether to give it away and found a lot of familiar ideas, combined with an 11 page chapter on the American government and a few snicker-inducing comments.

Now, this isn't the book review I promised for July. I can hardly do an official "review" of a book that was written in 1983 and probably hasn't been in print for years. I mean, really, how would you go about getting the book if you were interested in reading it (other than borrowing it from me, I guess)? However, I thought there were some interesting things I'd like to comment on.

The book is "Never Say Budget! How to put money in the bank and still have freedom to spend" and it was written by Mark and JoAnn Skousen. After reading the book I did a Google search on Mark's name and discovered he's a well-known economist and libertarian who is still active. He has a Ph.D. in economics and she was majoring in English and economics when the book was written (back when they were thirtysomethings).

I have to say that I'm surprised because I wasn't tremendously impressed by the book in terms of content, writing or organization. I would say that the gist of the book is well summed up by the 'Seven Golden Rules for Financial Success' listed in Chapter 11. The rules are:
1. Put savings first.
2. Save at least 10% of your income.
3. Make it easy to deposit your savings.
4. Make it difficult to withdraw your savings.
5. Invest your savings wisely.
6. Control your spending.
7. Control your credit.

Did anything there make your jaw drop at first glance? Didn't think so. But there are actually a few unusual aspects to the rules.

First, when he says to put savings first that's exactly what he means. You should put money into savings before you pay your mortgage, or buy food for your kids and you should do it even if you're on welfare. That's pretty hard line.

But when he talks about saving 10%, he's talking about your take home pay, whereas gross pay is what is more often recommended. And when he suggests making it difficult to withdraw your savings, he doesn't mean something like ING that takes a couple of days to transfer back into your bank account (ING Direct didn't exist then anyway). No, he's recommending things like choosing mutual funds with a back end load, the inconvenience of having to auction off antiques or tying up your money in real estate so you'd have to pay commissions! I don't want those kind of costs associated with accessing my money. After all, I'm going to have to take it out eventually in order to use it and I want the most money possible. I just don't want to be able to go to an ATM and yank it all out this second.

"Invest your savings wisely" is a no-brainer. I mean, who sets out to invest unwisely? Finally, I wouldn't have thought of separating credit cards out from the rest of the family spending. It's all money going out; it all needs to be controlled.

The weirdest thing about the book, in my opinion, is that it's ostensibly about saving and controlling your spending without using a traditional budget. But it takes forever to get to the point. As I said earlier, there's 11 pages on the US government, Keynesian economics and how Congress spends money. Then there's a summary of an Andy Rooney segment on how he's spent all the money he's made in his lifetime that probably takes longer to read than it took Andy to tell it. Oh yes, and the text of the Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken". Because that has everything to do with saving money. There's also a chapter on how budgets don't work for Americans, but that the answer is tracking all your expenditures instead. Okay. I just happen to consider tracking my expenses to be pretty much, uh, budgeting.

Finally, we get to all the rules, chapter by chapter. It's really here that I can see the influence of the inflation of the early 80's. There are at least a couple of disparaging comments about passbook savings accounts that 'only' return 5 1/4% (we'd love to see that again) and a mention of .25 candy bars (ditto), along with a recommendation that every investor should have some portion of their portfolio in gold and silver coins.

But there's a lot that sounds like 2008 too. There are discussions on credit cards with high interest rates, debit cards, consolidation loans and bankruptcy. There are the requisite explanations of American retirement savings plans, such as the IRA and Keogh (relatively new at the time the book was written) and dividend reinvestment plans (a la Derek Foster). And the discussion of short-term interest only mortgages and their dangers eerily foreshadowed the current sub-prime mess. From p.143-4: "Yet real estate slumps seldom hit everyone at once. Not being able to make payments or sell your house is a private emergency, not a national one.....those who overextend themselves are likely to lose their homes."

All in all, it was an interesting, if not particularly well-written, book although I didn't end up with much in the way of new information. It seems there truly is nothing new under the sun. So, ultimately, I think it really is one for the give-away box. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy a .25 chocolate bar!